The present invention relates to the structure of buildings; and more particularly to buildings having a pyramidal shape.
Since the beginning of time, housing and general shelter construction has been of great importance. Many societies have continuously attempted to develop low cost, easily constructed buildings capable of a variety of uses including residences, storage and like applications. The obvious use of a building is to provide shelter against the atmospheric elements. In many locations climatic conditions produce storms with high velocity winds which require that buildings constructed there be able to withstand the forces generated by such winds.
It is also desirable to be able to construct building structures formed of a plurality of prefabricated panels. These panels can be produced in factories under controlled conditions and quality standards. Mass production techniques also reduce the cost of prefabricated panels. The costs can be reduced further when the panels have common shapes with the number of different shapes being kept to a minimum.
There is also a need for temporary shelters which can be stored in a collapsed state and quickly assembled when a need arises. For example, these temporary shelters find use in the aftermath of disasters to provide housing for victims displaced from their homes. In addition, collapsible shelters can be utilized by military personnel and others when traveling.
While pyramids can provide structural and other benefits, the construction is not collapsible. Moreover, windows, doors and other openings are difficult to introduce to the slanted walls. Also, pyramids are not readily modular for combination to create larger structures.